Evening Star Newspaper, February 20, 1921, Page 55

Part 4—6 Pages MAGAZINE SECTION phe Sundey Star. [ | WASHINGTON, D.- €. UNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 20, 1921 protect its rights. Last year I ordered a tes will occupy in future naval warfare. One thing today | H is sure—our Navy must lead in air-fighting as well as ! on the sea and under the sea if there is to be no international the United States must have a N would be equal folly to quit building dreadnaughts. avyv—air and sea—that will t of bombing the old Indiana. i First Lord of the Admiralty—Can the Battleship Remain a Principal Unit? or the Lower New York Harbor May Have Great Bearing Upon Class of War ' Vessels to Be Constricted—The German Ship Ostfriesland as a Target for Airplane ‘Will Fleets of Aircraft Revolutionize Future Warfare at Sea? me to time in the press and ! upoen the comparatively ctual fighting done in the late t elsewhere little i | they were of no use and could be dis- | pensed with. The important service | i | fighting power of these ships that the activities of all other naval craft| was based. Throughout the war it | was the grand fleet at Scapa flow or | m. s depends victory or defeat. g = S i o1l s —— - — = —— 1 the fighting ships and upon the train- on 1t extreme care, aod Y ing and effectiveness of the per- ult we profoundly dissea . 39 - b & i sonnel. { from th views. ROPOSED Battle_ to Be Staged by the United States Navy n Chesapeake Bay S Exae | ‘.i's"!"\’.'..“‘.i‘,?,'.;’.‘.,i"; capital iy re- O man may say what is to be the place the airplane MMENT has been migde from i 5y n 0 0 the lute war having hip is doom: proved- tie On the Ger- contra or that type esity 1 ¥ war by the battleship fleets, and the | man side the whole of the submarine b7 T 1 1 rnati 2 o a p. (& PAIRN agains erchant vessels peace agreement. \Ve are cither to have an internationa o . » conclusion has been drawn that be- [ Campalgn against merchant vesselx peace agreement to reduce the of war preparedness or | | Bombs—Opmlons of the General Board of the Navy and Sir Walter Long. England S | lcause of thcir apparent inactivity | Ny JUIt un on the power of the ubmarines ' no way in- movements of capi- rrying out 3 idbv i : { which they performed was neither ! o o It would be folly not to go forward rapidly in developing | | e T —— | generatly Underscood nor appreciated | cthods of at- ‘the airship and all its possibilitics «s a fighting weapon. It In re: it was upon the x)ox-'nlmll‘ = €\[OR at present could the board We learned important lessons, but I have ordered even more thereabouts which m,‘"m"‘l,m, the | ':’.rm;..xl:,:.:..u,\r :..rxl.,hl.‘:\:.. ;o "1‘1'.‘l : : e < ; movements o enemy s stateme at airera e doo * | important tests of an air attack on the former German battle- | | Won (he'sea power vested and tatent beps o SiiaT Ship AT i e mare i v in © vaters. The i E sive. | | e 1 ttleships which exercised the | Al Aty 4 ship now in cur water: . The plan will be mmprehen,l\;l | N ',nr:;;(;"h: ipstiiveluiicn o rptat i {tainly of the highest importance n : ® Dres ibilitv of fighting i air and the | ! { kept' the German high sea fleet in its el atiache und ootk develop the present possibility of n;_hunp in the air and N | ST 008 Samors wath fone morate or | Soie: tarws o attacks and .;LLI!' ry | power of airplanes to sink a battleship by dropping ex- | | fts personnel was sapped and the | coaration, but their role in presn: | plosive i offensive power of that fleet de- not of a substitute for the capital £ 5 : ¢ S, ; stroyed by inaction. Ship. The past history of this ques- In the meantime we must press our aircraft program. | | | JIn the organizalion and evcration o Sl i el il Loyt i make test after test and experiment after experiment. con- | | “,{,:,’.‘ ;‘,{:“-‘..'a,."::“‘,',‘.(.‘if}',’,‘;"?.;'{‘"fio"ir‘.‘,n i:llm.ml has the doom of the b | c ‘ - ¥ | ship heen pronounced tr | struct new and newer craft and lcok forward to conquering | | powerful infantrs. Upon it ix 8 on or Commh e erart was bty | the land and sea. But until actual experiments have taught = ! “h{n‘a;‘ vitie P:r :;lrll\;rll;‘_;fm;;.\ulr:‘y" Al certatu g hriers over, Lwesity pears | us more than we know ncw we would not be justified in not | Bineer, mrcra((l]--n]ll. Tts masses may 'board of admiralty at the time re- Z & = R LI v | tand generally do lie well behind the | go g O 0 Ay i KRetats | completing the great dreadnaughts and battle cruisers now | advance lines, and not until the neces-! o, 4, aen ol hallting under construction. L ipasy meparationd have betn ";fl!d;“""- | smail ap torpedo craft instead of Let us be strong on the sea and in the air. but let us | | / e o e re et ot the wae | DAGEERIGA, SBd chey priweR KOS ; all hope that there will be statesmanship enough to devise / Tr”c':"m:; other conditions | introduction of @ (vpe to destroy the X R e TR Sl ! - it necessary visable, capital ship has been quickly fol- L]:laxls to make competitive navy building unnecessary. L it advance to give battle. Upon the | jabig’ | N T < { size and fighting power of the great' , agures which sustain its power. BY H. 0. BISHOP. «\'fl""li concentration of power lflfl! // imilar conditions obtain in the or- ‘I:;} 5 ‘l;;;’,{or‘;;;’;‘llisv“légfl‘p‘r’i‘:c?;:; HE whole world seems to be| fleat from the minaEniing ships of o Z ganization and operations of a_ fleet. | it ang hat ihet Res tuciencwal more or less agitated over the type of sea fighting craft o the future. Ta some quarters it is firmiy be- lieved that air planes will hereafter adjust all scraps of the briny deep. Many authorities take the position that the country with the largest fleet of submarines is the one that will rule the seas in the future years. “Build nothing but airplanes and sub- marines and cut out the battleships. is the frantic advice urged by some. “Build more of all three types‘of -fighting craft—battleships, Planes and subs,” is the suggestion from still others. “A fleet of battleships will be as mpotent the lower regions avhen monster air- ships a mile in the sky commence is the laconi¢ comment of grizzled old seamen. (O the other hand. taere sems to te considerable sentiment gll over the werld in _favor of- uing the building of all air submarines ‘and battleships: for a number of years or forever. With so miny conflicting opimions being indulged in. it is small. wander that the various rulers of tie world, and congressmen. Navy and Army au- thorities and - practicsily eidizens are industriously d'scussing what “ought” aud what “ought not" be done In future finval development: TUnauestionably. it is one of the big- gest problems facing the world today. Exciting interest is added to the stormy controversy - hv the sugges- tion to stage a hattleshin-airplane battle in the near future. The scrap, of courme, wwill ta¥: nlace at some point where it could be witnessad b a large numher of neople. While nothing definite ha< been decided ns to the exact local it is believed hawever, that thix unique and spec- tacular affray will e'fher take place on Chesapeake bav in the lower harbor of New Yor! The enthusiastic champions of the suveriority of the air forces are “champing at the bit” in their eager- ness to show what a perfectly simple thing it will be to fly above one of ~cretary Daniels’ ts and, selecting the exact frac- R k enough powerful explosives on the deck of the ship below to blow her into smithereens. Practically every man in the air service will tell you, *“A little job like that is just as easv .as cating a piece of pvmpkin pie at a Thanksgiving dinner. The men in the Navy have quite a different tale to tell. Some merely emile and others laugh out loud at ruch boasting. They will look ~you squarely in the eve and declare that an airplane cannot drop bombs on a battleship. There is only one way to settle the argument. The probabilities are that the Navy will respond to the d-fi of the air challengers by offer- inz the menster German battleshin Ostfriesland as the =acrificial lamb for the festive occasion. The Ost- friesland. according to the peace terms. must be deftroyed within a year by the United States. She is now Iving anchor at the New York navy yard. where she was brought some time ago for the ex- press authorities & chance to study Ger. man ship architecture and see if they possessed anything . of a superio character. * % % ¥ BE result of the contest will be of world-wide interest. If the air plane quickly sends the Ostfriesland to the bottom of the ocean it wil give airplane development a tremen- dous boost, and people ¢ inavies has always been ba. air- |ordnance and armor. in torncdoes, ex as_feuthery snowflakes in!ecial bui in- ! monster floating | n of a second for the job. drop | purpose of wmiving our naval | everywhere | | the present time and the strength of d_upon | the number and nower of its shins of the fighting line—that is, of its bat- tleships. | “Types chang in the mechanical arts and scienc: and in invention: but the general princ’ple of concentration of power in | ships that can take and keep the Sea at all times and in all weathers, that can dcliver and receive the heaviest (blows and that can overcome the strongest ships that may be brought | against them will continue as long us | | navies exist. | *The rapid progress during the iast ihalf century in naval construction and maritime inventions. in motive powe vance is made {plosives and accessories, has so In- creased the power and consequent :cost of battleshins as to make their! iacquisition and maintenance a finan- | rden of first importance to any however rich. Naturally, any or invention ination, ischeme, ' proposition ST win be found. on analysis, that { * the arguments against the ex- i sensive capital ship are based upon; ! tha \old fallacy that war can be | | cheaply won by hitting, dodzing and| funping. This beliet is ranced by the weaker opponent, who| ideavors to substitute surprise, ruse and stratagem for powerful, knock- Jut blows. At times it influences | stronger - nations who see, or hope ':hey see, some short, and mpre .eco~ nomical road to syccess, due to new | tnventions;-than that afforded by the i slower,. normal alivance methods and material. “Time and of maritime nations has been in- uenced by thése arguments. Reli- ance upon speed and commerce de- etroying had its day, until it became evident that speed without punch was 1ensufficient to win a war. “In the “early $0's. when the auto-| {mobile torpedo began to develop as a! | Weapon of fair accuracy, the imme- ldiate doom of the battleship was prophesied. A single torpedo launch- | ed from a boat costing less than 1$100,000 was to destroy a battleship {cnsung millions. The answer to this {soon came in increased underwater! | protection, torpedo defense batteries | land in the larger, faster, better arm-; jed and more costly torpedo boat de- in . naval | stroyer. which drove the smaller tor-, ipedo vessel from the sea and took | permanent place in the auxiliary. iforces ot the fleet at enhanced cost} | to its construction and maintenance. { “Much was expected in the late war of large, fast, well drilled squadrons. of torpedo boat destroyers that would launch a flock of torpedoes against| the capital ships in battle formation with fatal effect. At the battle of ! Jutlard, when these tactics were tried out, they failed. Several ships were! i hit, but not destroyed. The British battleship Marlborough, after being { torpedoed remained in the line and; | got =afely back to port. The Ger-| [man ship Seydlitz had the same ex-! | perience. Only one ship. of an older| itype, the Pommern, is reported tol | have been sunk. and that at night and after the battle. Nothing was ac. | complished in the battle in the way | of destruction of capital ships by tor- i pedoes, though great numbers were !launched. Destroyer met destroyer. | light cruiser, and the battleships held their place in the line. The most seri- i ous damage to the ships in this battle !\as due to the great gun. “The fast light cruiser, raider, com- merce destroyer, were again tried out n the world war. The Von Spee i pquadron, the Emden and a few other | vessels of similar types, brought a jeertain amonnt of distinction to the jerman navy. but as the German bat- le fieet could not support them they ieventually succumbed to superior i British forces which commanded the sea. Speed and dodging again fatled. again the naval policy | ) usually ad- 7 The battleship fleet represents the in- fantry masses. in_ which reside the final and decisive fighting power. The cruisers and destroyers, the subma- rines and aircraft, all the various sub. sidiary forces, like those of the army. { base their activities upon the battle | { fleet, which, when the time is oppor- | tune, exerts its full power upon the | enemy. Similar types will meet simi- {lar types, but it is upon the most i powerful type of all, the battleship, that the decision will depend. “Nothing that occurred during the| world war has served to change the opinion of the genecral board as to the | vital importance in war of the battle- ship; the ship that can at once give| {and take heavy blows. Now that we know the detailed | views of the experienced men of the | American Navy. it is well to know, for | {instance. how the views of England’s naval authorities coincide with them Here is what Sir Walter Long. fir {lord of the admiralty, said to parlia- jment on the subject: | presumed, on the idea that the bat- | tleship is dead and that submersible land air vessels are the types of the | future. The naval staff has examined ‘tical training must be carried out with the battle squadron as the main pnit. Nevertheless, it must be em- phasized that although the battleship remains, its type may Tequire to be altered. Advalces fn electficity, in the internal combustion engine and in science generally will inevitably ne- cessitate an eventual change of type. | and it is one of the principal functions of the naval staff to keep continuous watch on scientific development, with the object of insuring that the type of capital ship design meets the re- quirements of the future. It is even possible that the present battleshin will change to one of semi-submersi- ble type. or even of a fiying type, but such types are visions of the far fu- ture, not practical propositions of the | momient. By gradual evolution and de- velopment the types forecasted may arrive. but' the immediate abandon- ment of the capitai ship in favor of a visionary scheme of aircraft and submarines, would leave the British nation destitute of sea power and dropping ton; v i ; “There has been some criticism of without the means of progressive . oy ;:.k::‘d‘;‘c.fit“k,‘”é‘;i‘.‘..fio‘l,':i:'.{““".:;":“" 10 offer a less expen. | | the maintenance in commission of the | tyainiog. g2 of aircraft A tiractive and gonerally fnds Tniea: | present type of vessels, especially in| “We therefore believe that the bat- he good old battleships Will con- | Biastie mfppn"e‘r:‘"‘ 'y finds enthu- ! regara 1o lhe capital ship. A con- tleship must remain the principal tinue to be the backbone of all effec- | rw jDasy oty ;‘1:." e 01);!;‘);] :\;lvo- unit. 2 tive navies for many a year to come.’ | cated, this policy g based, it is| It will thus be seen that the leading American and English naval authori- ties are practically in perfect accord |as to the paramount impertance of i battleships. i The Case 70% the Hat | : By Pierre Mille. Translated From the Fremch by | HE hat I speak of,” said my honorable friend, Sir Rob- ert Bruce, one of the jus- tices of the king's bench | division of the United Kingdom, “was | | for three months the only hat that? | interested the public of England,| ,Scotland, Ireland and Wailes. That | may seen extraordinary to you, for, | { thank God, there are many other hats in our country which are worthy of | notice. There are the hats of the chancellor and of the university proc- tors, which aren’t half bad. There is| the headpiece of the poor little devils of the ancient corporate schools of the city of London, which is medieval 1o the point of being carnival-like. There is the cap of the soldiers of our old army, which is illustrious, and there. were at that period the hats of | his majesty King Edward VIL which were startling, ingenious and dis-| creet, according to circumstances— the hats of a monarch and an arbiter of fashion. But nobody thought of these any longer. It was as if they had never existed. People talked about only one hat, that of Thomas! Obadiah Barton, a navvy accused of} an abominable murder. “It wasn't a pretty hat. I still see, it figuring on the Surrey court table, | between the jury and myself, on the one side, and the prosecutor, the de- { fendant’s attorney and the defendant { himself, on the other. It was a most !lamentable head cover, an old soft felt, ‘made in. Germany.’ which, hav- ing once been green, had become red- | dish brown. It is a singular freak of nature, or a mystery of chemist that black hats, when they get old, turn green, while green hats turn reddish, especially when they come lrmm Germany. Nobody has ever been | | | | WILLIAM L. McPHERSON. | i i able to explain this phenomenon. * ok ok x nTHIS one had had a band—even still had ome, in the final stage of dishonor and dilapidation. The iband had been formerly a Teutonic imitation of silk, but imitated it not for long, as crushed nettles imitate spinach. It was frayed and stained | {others to make the test. | hist | ley. including the respcct owed the court, to escape the honor which counsei wished to put on me and to avoid this experiment. Moreover, the hat hadn't been disinfected, for fear that impru- dent manipulation might - shrink or enlarge it. Yet the lawyer sucgeeded, in the course of the trial, in getting The hat fit- ted several of them perfeetly—much better. at least. than it fitted Barton The §defense drew the conclusion, therefore, that evidence of this sori was manifestly worthless, You will say: “The first thing to do was to ask Barion if the hat was his' But you speak as, a_ French- man. not an Englishman.. By virtue of English law a judze’s first duty is to tell the accused that every word that comes out of his mouth mays be used against him and that he has the right to remain silent. 1 didn't fail in that duty. and Thomas Obadiah Barton was only too well disposed to listen to me. Of all the brutes who have ever been charged with murder, from London to the antipodes, he was the most complete, the most positive and the most incurable. He didn’t speak. not only because he had been told not to speak, but because he nu longer had any ‘more ideas in his brain, it seemed, than the ox which ruminates, the oyster on its rock or the stone along the roadside. He ap- peared congenitally destined never to say anything and never to think anything. It was hard to know whether he understood that he was facing the gallows. He was there: that was all. * % % % } QO the hat, the hat alone, had be- come the accused. Witnesses were called and put on the doyble grill of the defense and the |nroue('||l(ol? Thv" wera asked: "Do You recogniz hat? Have you seen it on Barton's head? ' 5 “:ome said yes; some said no. Some had never seen Barton except bare- headed. Some were very ronl‘l’dem. “l'B;rton.'.J"l they said. ‘Let me have a look at his cap. I would rec it Am;ng a thousan: e nd it wasn't a cap, but a hat t‘l‘s‘l,mlet iexcll“l{med: “Is it his? Cer- ainly S e were with v he bought it. L “But another witness swore: He won it in Before that it A ea belonged to Ted Fineh. 'The{'e were many others couldn’t remember anything. The ‘Was put under a cloth. who hat = 5 ‘Today the opponents of the battle- Be critas ‘ o 2 b T ol s s or ¥ 5 type |in & most original fashion. In the You know Barton's hat? Will loudly demand increased appro s ¢ though the cruising ground of the|these days of progress in invention,|the time and place for use els of the scout or cruiser type s L ations for the construction of ai "‘”" ”;‘.‘:;:‘;':‘f‘ ":‘I.'L';”‘:,:f‘“w_ °:‘;:,“‘,}’,_°,“_ British grand fleet was infested b&']bu[ no revolutionary change is to be! arise. Victory in the air will then be in any great.degree impaired | opinion of e‘fl;‘v M\inxum“:n az‘ the| | -',Ifl color was it » But if the explosives miss iy the prospective. development of | bmarines, eventually brought to alexpected. Secrecy as to basic char. depend upon the greater efficiency [ by the use of aircraft as information | beginning of the twentieth century, .,r“h!y Ser b diz planes. 1he battleship und splash harmlessly down to the playgrounds of the fishes a big noise will be made for more submarines and aircraft. It is tae old battle of words over again—like, that of the torpedo against the big high state of perf mane, not a single battleship of that s sunk or even very seriously fleet ion by the Ger- | m. in parallel with acteristics cannot be maintained and | ns of defense move | lines and at about cqual speed in personnel and m: Hence the training and atorial in the air need for imm preparation in gatherers. “Surface vessels will always be needed for use under weather and no other hat could have looked like it. The woof had disappeared complete-) ly, as if delicately rubbed off by Breen, vellow, orange, th ‘s S € hues of the “When the testimony blue—all . . injured by submarine attack. The | aviation. other conditions when aircraft could cticed hand. It had become . > over and of (the (good cid-fushioned bAttic- |ahip. the gun agalust sriner, speed e wan .4 were | thoxe of offensc. |, “Aviation development over the land | not be employed for the patrol of | aimest o work of art, resembling & :,';,“ i‘,‘,“‘“"?‘fl were made I summed ships. : s . i against concentrated fighting power. | L0 Clirl and the grand flect f “The unlucky may happen and the|pag progressed far more than over sea routes, the rotection of Hnes of butterfly’s texture, a spider's web or | put u;pi:]i . 25 was my duty. 1 T e s of secing iy | e are asked to accept hopes for ac- | quenily traversed the North sea and | protective measures and devices need- | The difliculties of the ef- | communication, = escort of convoys,| - Wwhat seemed to me mot | the water. people will be desirous of seeing this festivat us decisive and «poch-making experi- s attend the many futile at. b B 3 note of Sir Thomas Lipton to “lift | ¢ DURING the late war the subma- the cup.” o Bat ikl rine, a new weapon never be- It is of interest to know what the ! e : igh " oficials of the United States |fore tried in war, recel\-nl enormous Nawy think about the relative merits | development. Its employment against of various types of fighting craft for | certain types of vessels, particularly slow, unprotected merchant vessels, the future. board of the = was entirely unexpected. The subma- R oios oo A dmical 1o | o miral R. S o G il rine is the most successful weapon in its qualities of concealment lg-l ur- ; contz, Rear Admirals W. S. Sims, C. J. Badger, R _H. Jackson, Andrew Lon:, | H. Mavo. W. L. Rodgers and J. | Prise yet advanced. It o very | Strauss. Commanders M. K. Metcalf and | near winning the war for Germany. ¥F. A. Todd and Lieut. Col. L. € Lucas|But., as alwayve, necessity and inven- and Maj. Gen. John A. léjeune of the | tion combined found means to meet menace and reduce it to con- troiluble limits, i the clouds of early morning. “But, such as it was, I must admit that it was almost the only evidence, the sole proof, against Thomas Oba- diah Barton. t wasnt Barton whom they interrogated, examined and cross-examined. It was the hat. “It had been found a few steps away from the victim, a young woman whom the murderer, whoever he was, had brutally crushed her head under a huge Stone, mear a canal where Barton was working at the time of the crime. Was he its owner of not? The whole case turned lon the hat. | “Nothing -seems simpler at first; Dblush than to find out whether a hat { belongs or not to a certain Individual. : | The thing to do is to put it on his| “‘\h! That's good" he anewered, !nead. 1f it fits, the presumption is!| “He seemed to awaken nointed to {that it helongs to him. But the ac-[the hat. and asked. tranquillv: | cused’s lawyer, after having anlmely!l Theu. my lord, may I take my measured my’ own cramium. sus- (MU L o gested: at wae his! 80 ha wa *‘May it please your lordship to try E“"‘fiw”‘;"":fl'm":wkhem ise. He |the hat on? It doesn’t fit Thomas Magadrle oo BB Barton in three particulars. We pre-1po liogt %000 0% Loncable eriona, i sent the expert testimony of three like that. We never understand what hatters on that point. I am WIling | it is to onr Interest not 1o amdint to bet that it fits your lordship ex-|gtand. It in that which mives us our actly. strength. 4 . - When tha’ tire them. “1 was able to .give. legal, reasons, it - profit 28 Syl { complishment. evidential and emphasized what was * % % % evidential. It was for the Jury to decide whether the hat i t belonged to “The jurors retired. in 2h honr ire They returned “‘Gentlemen.’ I said to vour \'er;"cl'." o het “Not guilty. your lordship." *The defendant was ; e Ao e S acquitted. He “‘Don’t you hear? = o You are ac- “Still he didn't move. He didn’t understand, any moré than he had nnderstood what had bappened an-. ine the trial. 8 “His lawyer shouted in his ear: “‘You are acquitted. That means that vou rva fy Vou can wo. adjacent waters unharmed and at|ed for the survival of the cap will. There is no reason to believe ship may outweigh and overshadow | against that the defense along these lines will | the value of such ships as primary | greater. not continue to keep pace with the | weapons. Before such a condition is| offense. | reached, however, the new weapons | “Finally come the bomb and tor=!pow under trial will have to pedo-carrying aircraft to contest the!,itain a general efficiency far supremacy of the capital ship, as well | j; axcess of anything they now pos-| as of all surface vessels. Greut!y.iy predictions are one thing, ac- things, not yet accomplished, are pre. ties are another. It would be the dicted by the inventors and enthusi-|pejght of unwisdom for any nation astic supporters of these new Weab:| |oucessing sea power Lo pin its faith ons, but it past experience has any | 00000 e practice upon mere lue it may be as confidently pre-| y.onies as to the future development ! dicted that equally fertile invention As yet new and untried weapons. will provide means for meeting the | o protected gun is the most gener- ” development of these weapons | B os is “orps. have given this question | the future d pmer ally effoctive weapon in existence Marine Corps, siven @ and that they. like their dangerous | o o) use. But that fact does not “The successful employment of the | predecessors. will continuc to be onl ty of devel- much consideratio: ;. For twenty vears this board has| e ) been charged with the duty of rec-|destrover and other upeedy vessels|adsuncts of the fleet. Already air-| oo ow Weapons ommending to the Navy Department!with their depth bombs. the motor| craft have been successfully employed and inventions as rapidly as possible. the proper types of ships for the Navy | boat with its listening devices, sub-|in war against alrcraft. . ; marine against submarine, developed| “No ome can foretell what the de-| * * | @ defense against submarine attack|yvelopments in aviation may bring in! . o T the present time the defense of the modification of present acceptedl / ol atiips lagainat aivecaft types of surface vessels, but it may gartac b each in due proportion. - Particularly, to a point where it was successfully be confidently asserted that uhnngulfl"lfk whether by bombs or tor- mince the close of the recent war ac tivities, more than two vears ago, the =2veral board has devoied itself to a |met. It took a lopg time. but again study of changes proper to adopt in |surprise and dodging failed. e he capital ship survived this. per-t Jr (0 g 0 46 this influence will bel pedoes, seems fairly well solved. It SR B S fi{"v‘\"h‘}:h ‘xhxl n;'l"'}‘n"E:L"n""exflo"“a"a.ffi slow and will not seriously affect the | consists mainly in meeting aircraft further improvements in underwater | Value of the ships now built or to bel with ajrcraft. The limitations of air- built in the near future. Changes“f craft are such that there is no reason military characteristics of battle and| why beth sides, garoperly prepurcd. | other, surface ships are frequent infshould not have aifffraft at hand, when or aircraft over water, ships, are incomparably During the war the damage to surface vessels from aircraft was . practically ncgligible. It is easy to place a bomb on the deck of a ship, explode it from a safe place, and then exclaim in wonder at the damage it has caused. But it is a very different matter to place that same bomb from the air when under gunfire or attack from other planes. The same is true of the torpedo launched from aircraft. The characterist weaknesses of the torpedo under the necessary_ conditlons of operation make a kit fram ti r difficult un- | der the best of conditions, but con- ding that it can be done, tests un- - peace conditions must of necessity he inconclusive as to actual perform- an~s under war conditions. ‘There is no doubt. howaver, that the future employment of aircraft in connection with naval operations will introduce new problems of attack and defense of far-reaching importance. They will become increasingly valu- able adjuncts of the fleet. “It is not too much to say that the "influence of seaplanes upon scouting and information-gathering duties may revolutionize former ‘naval practice these lines, though it Is not essity for surface screens for fleets and numerous other duties for which aircraft are not suited. “The composition of a war fleet is! becoming more and more complex. It follows the law of incrcase in size and cost as do all great modern or. ganizations, But the principle is the same now as in the days of Nelson and before. Ships of different types had to be provided for the duties which the state of naval warfare then demanded. Hence the ship-of- | the-line (battleship), in which the | main reliance was placed for the de- struction of enemy kea power. Frigates, sloops and smaller craft were provided for informatjon gath- ering, blockading, ocean patrol, con- voying, commerce destroying and the clearing of the seas of enemy craft of similar types, besides store and ! supply ships for fleet maintenance. “Today: the fleet orzanization is still based upon the great fighting ships with such auxiliaries as modern progress has made necessary for the prosecution of naval warfare. As new weapons have been invented or old ones have been increased in power means have been found to meet them. The dgfense has kept pace with the offense, and victory de- vends as Dbefore upon efficient or- ganization, the number and power of |. is war. Here e some of the conclu- protection as well as In other ways ®ions of this famous board: “Concentration of power in attack have greatly minimized it. As a mat- ter of f throughout "Lhu 5. e 3s the fundamental basis of ali war- ) e ogasations, .axhore and afloat.